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OSU veterinary center

Pa. horse healing well after being set on fire

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoNeal C. Lauron | DISPATCHVictoria Scott performs a biopsy on Northstar, a horse from Pennsylvania who was severly burned by abusers, at the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center. Doctors are cautiously optimistic about Northstar’s recovery.

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Doused with a flammable liquid and set ablaze in a Pennsylvania meadow, the American Paint horse
seemed to have little chance of surviving.

Forty percent of its body was burned, so severely that bone showed through in two places and
large expanses of hide sloughed off, revealing layers that looked like uncooked steak.

But nearly three weeks after Northstar was tortured by unknown abusers, the outlook for the
6-year-old gelding is brightening.

“I could not say he’s out of the woods yet, but I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Dr. Sam
Hurcombe, the veterinarian in charge of the horse’s care at Ohio State University Veterinary
Medical Center. His owners “didn’t know if he’d survive when they called us.”

Northstar was taken to the equine center on Sept. 5, 11 days after his owners, Bob and Jessie
Woodworth, found him burned in the pasture of their farm in Crawford County in the northwest corner
of Pennsylvania.

They cared for the injured horse with the help of a local veterinarian but feared that infection
would kill the animal they had loved and raised since birth.

Community members rallied around the horse. Someone offered a trailer to take him to an animal
hospital. Someone else set up a website —
www.helpnorthstar.com — to gather
donations for his care. And yet another person offered to pay for the horse’s hospitalization and
suggested he be taken to Ohio State.

“This is definitely a story that has touched a lot of people, and you can see why there’s anger
in the community,” Hurcombe said. “How could someone do this?”

Northstar’s injuries range from first- to third-degree burns on both sides of his neck and
across his back, Hurcombe said. The wounds are covered with gauze that’s removed daily so that
veterinary residents and students can gently rub off dead skin to prevent infection and speed
healing.

Northstar is partially sedated for the painful procedures, Hurcombe said, and is kept on pain
medication.

The horse continues to eat and drink normally and is in good spirits, he said. As with humans,
his apparent strong will to live and a good mental attitude are helping with his recovery.

A big concern, though, is infection spreading to exposed bone.

Eventually, skin from other areas of Northstar’s body will be grafted onto the places where no
layers remain. Last week, veterinarians removed tissue that will be cultured in the hope that those
cells will multiply and grow into tissue that also can be placed on the damaged skin.

That has been done for humans, and Hurcombe hopes it will work for horses, too.

Because badly burned horses aren’t commonly seen by veterinarians, treatment protocols don’t
exist, he said, so he mostly is treating Northstar’s burns in much the same way a doctor treats
human burns.

“The body is amazing in its healing qualities,” he said. “We don’t want to be too
impatient."

Northstar’s neck and back will be badly scarred after he recovers, but his owners aren’t worried
about that, wanting only for him to “have a happy life,” the veterinarian said. The Woodworths are
declining interviews but agreed to allow Ohio State to share information about Northstar, Hurcombe
said.

Jane Carroll, an OSU public-relations manager, said treatment costs this month are expected to
exceed $10,000, and future costs are unknown.

The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating Northstar’s burning and have several leads, Cpl.
Brad Parker said. The crime, cruelty to animals, is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to
two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The Crawford County Humane Society in Pennsylvania is offering a $500 reward for information
leading to an arrest and conviction, the director, LeRoy Stearns, said. Friends of the owners also
are offering $1,500 in rewards, according to Ohio State.

“I’ve been in the business for 25 years, and (Northstar’s is) the worst cruelty case I’ve ever
seen,” Stearns said. “We see a lot of neglect, but nothing like torture.”